CYBERJAYA will be transformed into a global technology hub with a new blueprint comprising a new Cyberjaya City Centre development. It will have a gross development value of RM9 billion when it is completed between eight and 15 years from now.
Finance Ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Irwan Serigar Abdullah said this is part of the government’s plan to revitalise the originally envisioned information and communications technology (ICT) hub, when it was launched in 1996.
Speaking to reporters after chairing a meeting on the “Blueprint for Elevating Cyberjaya to a Global Tech Hub” here, yesterday, Irwan Serigar said the Cyberjaya Global Tech Hub Blueprint, which is currently receiving feedback and input from stakeholders and government entities, will be presented to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
Irwan Serigar, who is also Cyberview Sdn Bhd chairman, said an array of projects, flanking the rejuvenated cyber city, will also be developed.
He said there will be focus on affordable housing with PR1MA houses, a 500-bed public hospital, a new mosque scheduled to open in January and also a “400m walkalator” connecting Cyberjaya to the proposed MRT link at Putrajaya Sentral.
State-owned Cyberview is the land owner of Cyberjaya and manager of the new CyberJaya City Centre initiative. Setia Haruman Sd Bhd is said to be responsible for overseeing the overall development work as Cyberjaya’s master developer.
Also present at the media briefing was Cyberview managing director Faris Yahaya, who said Cyberview has revised its policies and has stopped selling land since Irwan Serigar joined its board of directors in November 2012.
The new mantra for the firm is to co-develop land, and the new mandate is to move from being a real es-tate player to a technology player.
“The premise of the policy-change is to ensure the sustainability of the company. The new business model for Cyberview is to do joint ventures because we don’t want to lose the land and we have to be more strategic in our approach,” he said.
Faris said Cyberjaya City Centre, which is key to the new Cyberjaya masterplan, will benefit greatly from the proposed high-speed rail (HSR) and MRT line which will pass through neighbouring Putrajaya Central. The elevated walkalator, he said, will be able to house shops and commercial outlets.
Prior to the new masterplan for Cyberjaya, Cyberview’s board of directors discussed the need for a new mandate for the ICT hub last December. Following that, the company engaged Roland Burger Strategy Consultants, a Germany-based global strategy consulting firm, in April this year to conduct a 10-week study and come up with the blueprint for a new masterplan for Cyberjaya.
Cyberview’s board is scheduled to sit again in September to view the proposal and upon approval, will be forwarded to the Economic Council under the Economic Planning Unit at the Prime Minister’s Department for the green light.
Roland Burger’s recommendations to give Cyberjaya a competitive edge include focusing on five ICT areas, namely information security, creative content, mobile Internet, cloud computing, big data analytics and four non-ICT sectors: green technology, biotechnology, wearable technology and smart grid technology.